GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Jiangsu Walvax Biotech Company (Walvax) have announced a cooperation agreement to form a long-term Joint Venture (JV) to develop and manufacture paediatric vaccines for use in China. The JV will produce vaccines for measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) (Priorix™) and potentially other paediatric vaccines. GSK will also transfer the technology to enable the JV to manufacture the vaccines locally over time.

Sandoz announced the launch of its recombinant human growth hormone somatropin in Japan, the first-ever biosimilar to be approved and launched on the world's second largest pharmaceutical market.

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Osaka, Japan, "Takeda") will establish four new commercial subsidiaries covering Mexico, Turkey, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Belgium and Luxembourg. The new subsidiaries - Takeda Pharmaceuticals Mexico, S.A. de C.V., Takeda Pharmaceuticals Trade, LLP (Turkey), Takeda Pharmaceuticals Nordics AB (Sweden), and Takeda Pharmaceuticals Benelux SPRL (Belgium) - are part of Takeda's strategic global expansion efforts.

Initial results from the two-year Phase III FREEDOMS study show that oral FTY720 (fingolimod) was significantly superior to placebo in reducing both relapses and disability progression in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS)[1] - one of the leading causes of neurological disability in young adults[3].

Merck KGaA announced the submission of a New Drug Application (NDA) to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Cladribine Tablets, Merck's proprietary investigational oral formulation of cladribine, as a therapy for reducing relapses in people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS).

On behalf of The Lilly TB Drug Discovery Initiative, the Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Academia Sinica, a research institution based in Taiwan, to collaborate in target-based screening for the discovery of new tuberculosis (TB) drugs. The Lilly TB Drug Discovery Initiative's most important goal is filling the pipeline for faster, future TB drug development.

Abbott today announced a definitive agreement with the Solvay Group for Abbott to acquire Solvay's pharmaceuticals business for EUR 4.5 billion ($6.6 billion) in cash, providing Abbott with a large and complementary portfolio of pharmaceutical products and a significant presence in key global emerging markets.